Starting Schneider a pragmatic, not sentimental choice

Ever since Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault named
backup Cory Schneider (Marblehead, Mass.) his starter for the
long-anticipated first match between the 2011 Stanley Cup
finalists, there has been no shortage of people chalking up the
choice to Schneider’s Boston roots.

Wrong. Try again.

Vigneault is an NHL coach, and he’s not prone to letting
sentiments get in the way of what he’s trying to do with the
Northwest Division-leading Canucks.

Lest we forget what happened in Boston last June in Games 3, 4
and 6 of the Stanley Cup championship series when ugly Roberto
Luongo meltdowns paved the way for Lord Stanley’s return to
the Olde Towne for the first time in 39 years.

Now is not the time to revisit tire-pumping or Luongo’s
ill-conceived comments after a post-Game 5 shutout when he offered
up his opinion of counterpart Tim Thomas’ play after
surrendering just one goal in a 1-0 contest. One could argue that
Luongo’s unsolicited soundbite may not only have stirred the
fire in a reeling giant, giving the Bruins a clearcut reason to
take it to the Canucks and Luongo in Games 6 and 7, but probably
became a historical footnote and cautionary tale to every athlete
at any level to zip the claptrap until the championship is
secure.

In any case, Vigneault announced Friday that Luongo would not be
taking his place between the pipes for Saturday’s matinee
against Boston, the scene of the crime where “Bobby
Lou” went 0-3 with an 8.05 goals against average and .773
save percentage. Instead, the Canucks are going with the former
Phillips Andover standout and 1st-round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry
Draft in Schneider, who came in for relief not once, but twice for
Luongo last June, stopping 39 of 41 Boston shots.

Those numbers, representative of a .951 save percentage against
a team that was shooting out the lights in the TD Garden, scoring
23 goals on 225 shots in the trio of games, only tells half the
story.

Schneider entered under the most extreme of circumstances for a
goaltender each time: with the opponent having built big leads on
some soft/questionable goals, the relief goalie’s club
reeling and dejected and assailed by the cacophony of a fired up
and hostile Boston crowd.

In both appearances, Schneider stopped the bleeding and
exhibited the kind of calm and poise that just about everyone
expected Luongo to show.

Make no mistake- Schneider is still the No. 2 in Vancouver. You
would think that Luongo would have demanded to get the start
Saturday in Boston, especially given his latest hot streak. He
posted a shutout in his last start and Vigneault would be riding
the proverbial “hot hand” who has gone 10-3-2 since
December.

Instead, Vigneault left very little to speculation by naming
Schneider a full 24 hours in advance. His respectable 2.15 GAA and
.931 save percentage shows that the former Boston College workhorse
who came close to an NCAA championship on several occasions with
the Eagles but could not quite finish the deal, has earned the
chance to play in front of his hometown crowd.

Only those who only wish to believe precisely what they are told
can look at this decision as one to put Schneider in position to
play in front of friends and family. While that sentiment works at
lower levels perhaps, the real reason for the choice, beyond the
fact that Schneider has earned it as a viable NHL netminder, is to
minimize distractions and take some of the crowd’s bite out
of it from the start.

Will the TD Garden faithful be fired up at puck drop?
Absolutely.

However, think of the energy currents that would be firing
around the building rafters and stands if No. 1 in the blue and
green was manning the pipes opposite Thomas? Is it going to be the
same for Schneider?

That answer is pretty obvious.

Sure- there will be “Where is Luongo?” chants
a-plenty this afternoon. Roberto himself is even trending heavily
on Twitter today despite the fact that he’ll be occupying the
seat he got to know well last June. However, by going with
Schneider, Vigneault has effectively countered the thunderdome
effect that would have put his club behind the 8-ball from the
get-go.

Now, his team can just focus on playing on a 60-minute game
without wondering about that nagging “what if” feeling
that would undoubtedly occupy the space in the back of their minds.
After all, as much as we expect NHL players to be robots who play
the game impervious to external factors and influences, that is
simply not possible.

No matter how much lip service might be paid to the idea that
this is “just another regular season game” by both
Boston and Vancouver players, if Luongo was in net, the Canucks
would surely find themselves grappling with the simple thought: it
can’t happen again, can it?

By starting Schneider, Vigneault removes that element of doubt
from the equation. This is not to say that Luongo did not have the
option to close the door behind him in the visiting coach’s
office and demand the right to redemption. However, it has become
apparent that Vancouver’s $5.3 million dollar man did not do
so.

That puts 900k guy Schneider in the hot seat. And, if his play
in limited action last June is any indication, it’s a smart
choice for the Canucks.

If there will be any rematch between Vancouver and Boston for
anything other than regular season bragging rights, then that will
have to wait until June of 2012. Both clubs will have to earn their
way there.

For now, consider this a minor move in the chess match that is
an entire hockey season for Vigneault, and it is if nothing else, a
pragmatic one.

Coaches don’t reach the highest level by making choices
from the heart. And should Schneider find a way to slow down the
NHL’s hottest offense today, Vigneault will get a lot of
credit for having the stones to go there.